Storage bin or hopper.



W. B. WRIGHT. STORAGE BIN OR HOPPER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19, 1912.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 20., WASHINGTON. D o.

FitlQEi.

WALTER B. WRIGHT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STORAGE BIN OR HOPPER.

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To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER B. Wnror-rr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Storage Bins or Hoppers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in storage bins or hoppers, and has reference more particularly to such devices when employed as receptacles for garbage and like material of a more or less irregular character and more or less saturated with moisture.

The device of my invention is intended mainly for use in connection with garbage incinerating furnaces, more especially of the overhead feed type, wherein the material to be burned is stored in a large hopper or bin directly above the feed opening of the furnace, and is discharged from time to time into the latter.

One object of my invention is to provide a simple, efficient and easily manipulated deliver gate or valve for hoppers and bins handling this class of material, which will not become clogged or choked by the material itself, and which will be readily openable and closable regardless of irregularities in the character and density of the material handled.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple means for readily and automatically discharging from the lower end of the bin or hopper the liquid with which green garbage is more or less heavily charged, so as to thus separate out from the material, prior to its introduction to the furnace, so much of the moisture as may be expressed by the weight of the material in the storage bin. These bins are often of very large capacity, containing many tons of damp, moisture-laden material, so that a considerable quantity of the contained moisture tends to accumulate in the lower end of the bin. By my present invention I automatically drain off this accumulated moisture, thus preventing it from passing through the delivery valve into the furnace.

My invention, its mode of operation and Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. September 19, 1912.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

Serial No. 721,174.

its advantages will be readily understood when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating the same in one practical form of embodiment, and in which Figure 1 is a top plan view, broken away, of the lower portion of the bin or hopper, showing mainly my improved delivery valve or gate and my improved moisture draining apparatus; Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in vertical section, of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail fragmentary sectional view showing in elevation the prong guiding and supporting bar.

Referring to the drawing, 5 designates the sloping and downwardly converging side walls of the bottom of the hopper, which form a rectangular opening between their lower ends after the fashion of hoppers of this type. Secured to and depending from the outer sides of the walls 5 is a frame structure comprising a rectangular attaching frame 6, hanger brackets 7, and a lower horizontal frame consisting of side bars 8 and end bars 9. The lower horizontal frame is additionally connected to the lower end of the hopper by short connectors 7 adjacent to the corners of the latter.

Journaled in bearings in the end bars 9 of the lower frame are a pair of rods 10 having right and left screw threads 11 and 12 on their opposite end portions. Mounted to travel on the threaded portions of these rods are bars 13 carrying inwardly projecting narrow fingers or prongs 14:. These latter are'guided and additionally supported by stationary guide bars 15 extending crosswise of the prongs and through apertures 15 in which said prongs slide. The guide bar 15 is shown in detail in Fig. 3.

One end of each of the rods 10 projects beyond its bearing and carries a bevel pinion 16 meshing with a mating bevel pinion 17 on each end of the cross shaft 18. This latter is journaled in bearing brackets 19 projecting from the end bar 9 of the lower frame, and has splined thereon a pair of bevel friction wheels 20 that cooperate with a driving friction wheel 21 to form a friction clutch, the shifting of the wheels 20 into and out of engagement with the driving wheel 21 being effected by a hand lever 22. The driving friction wheel 21. is mounted on the upper end of an inclined shaft 23 that is journaled in a depending bracket Q l formed on a cross bar 25 secured to the under side of the side bars 8 of the lower horizontal. frame. The lower end of the shaft 23 carries a bevel pinion Q5 engaged and driven by a bevel pinion 26 fast on a power shaft 2?, this latter, as herein shown, being journaled in brackets 28 secured to an underlying measuring hopper 29 that, in practice, is located directly above the feed opening of the furnace. The measuring hopper 29 is, in turn, suspended from the frame bars 8 by hanger bra CliEtS 30.

roin the foregoing it will be seen that by shifting the friction wheels 20 in one direction or the other lengthwise of the shaft 18, the rods 10 will be rotated in one direction or the other, so as to carry the valves (con of the bars 13 and prongs M) in waitlly or oi'itwardly of the opening in the lower end of the storage hopper. It will also be manifest that, by reason of the peculiar structure of these valves, they will rca dily penetrate and draw out of the ma terial, so as to arrest or permit the gravity discharge of the latter, without being clogged or obstructed. in their opening or closing min'ements thereby.

Referring to the automatic drain feature of my invention, the downwardly converging walls 5 are provided near their lower edges with apertures 31 that directly overlie a gutter or drain that is secured to the outer sides of the walls 5. This gutter is preferably yen. a slight inclination as to its bottom wall tmvard one corner thereof, to which latter is connected a drain pipe leading to the sewer. The considerable amount of liquid which is expressed from the material in. the hopper and trickles down the side walls of the latter thus finds ready discharge tl'lrough the openings 31, gutter .i and drain pipe 38, to that extent reducing the amount of moisture that has to be driven off within the furnace to render the material readily combustible in the latter.

It will. be manifest to those skilled in the art that the device of my invention herein shown and described may be considerably modiilicd in details without departing from the principles involved or sacrificing any of die advantages scured thereby, and hence I do not limit the invention to toe exact apparatus disclosed, except to the extent clearly indicated in specific claims.

it claim:

1. The combination with a storage bin having a. d l.il"ll? opening at its lower end, of a supporting .Jainc suspended from said bin, a pair of holders carrying oppositely Loeeeae disposed inwardly projecting ably mounted on said frame on opposite sides of said opening, a pair of parallel rods journaled in said frame and having oppositely threaded portions engaging said l1olders, respectively, and means for rotating said rods in unison.

2. The combination with. a storage bin having a discharge opening at its lower end, of a supporting frame suspended fromv said bin, a pair of holders carrying oppositely disposed inwardly projecting prongs reciprocable across said opening, stationary apertured guide-bars disposed adjacent to opposite edges or said opening in which the prongs pertaining to said holders are respectively slidably mounted, a pair of parallel. rods journaled in said frame and each having oppositely threaded portions engaging said holders, respectively, and means for rotating said rods in unison in either direotion.

3. The combination with a storage bin having a discharge opening at its lower end, of a supporting frame suspended from said. bin, a pair of holders carrying oppositely disposed in *ardly projecting prongs slidably mounted on said frame on opposite sides of said opening, a pair of parallel rods journaled in said frame and having oppositely threaded portions engaging said holders, respectively, and clutchcontrolled means for rotating said rods in unison in a direction to effect either the inward or outward movement of said holders and prongs.

4-. The combination with a storage bin prongs slid 1 having a discharge opening at its lower end,

of a supporting frame suspended from said bin, a pair of holders carrying oppositely disposed inwardly projecting prongs slid ably mounted on said frame on opposite sides of said opening, a pair of parallel rods journaled in said frame and each having on positely threaded portions engaging said. holders, respectively, bevel pinions on the corresponding ends of said rods, respectively, a cross-shaft carrying on its ends bevel pinions engaging and driving said first-named bevel pinions, a drive-shaft having a bevel friction wheel, a pair of connected oppositely facing bevel. friction wheels splined on said. cross-shaft, and a le ver for shifting either of said lastna1ned friction wheels into dr'ven engagement with the friction wheel on said drive sha The combination with a storage bin j having downwardly converging walls at its lower portion provided with a row of drain a1 ertures therein, of a gutter secured to the under side of said walls beneath said apertures, and a drain pipe leading from said gutter.

6. The combination with a storage bin having downwardly coi'iverging walls their lower portions provided, adjacent to drain pipe leading from said lowermost their lower ends, with a row of apertures point of the gutter.

extendin around the lower end of the bin 1 of a guttzr secured to the under side of said WALTER WVRIGH'L walls beneath said apertures, the bottom Witnesses:

wall of said gutter having a slight inclina- SAMUEL N. POND, tion to a lowermost polnt thereof, and a HARRIET A. CRANNELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

